For more than 220 years, 4711 has been stimulating, inspiring, and exciting people around the world.

An Eau de Cologne captivates the world

It all started with a very special present. On 8 October 1792 the young merchant Wilhelm Muelhens received a wedding gift from a Carthusian monk the secret recipe for an “aqua mirabilis”, a wonderful miracle water for internal and external use.

Soon after, Wilhelm Muelhens opened a small factory in Cologne’s Glockengasse. In 1794, during the French occupation, the house was given the number 4711 – a number that was to become eternally entwined with Muelhens’ product. The ingredients in 4711 are said to have healing properties. In 1810, Napoleon demanded that the recipes for all medicinal formulations be disclosed; Muelhens, wanting to protect his secret recipe, stated that Original Eau de Cologne was a fragrance for external use only. The design of 4711 Original Eau de Cologne also became part of its trademark: to this day, the hexagonal Molanus bottle, designed in 1820 by the distiller Peter Heinrich Molanus, and the label in the colours Bremer blue and gold give 4711 Original Eau  de Cologne its distinctive look.

4711 Original Eau de Cologne swiftly became a best-seller: aristocrats and royalty, including the Tsar of Russia and the Prince of Wales, and celebrities such Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Richard Wagner were fans of this incomparable fragrance.

The brand’s international success was unstoppable, and – in the words of the advertising slogan – it became the “Number of the World”. Shops opened in Vienna and New York, rapidly followed by depots all around the world. As early as 1840, trading ships left the North Sea ports, loaded with cases of 4711, on their way to the major trading ports on the Indian Ocean. Within a short space of time, 4711 became one of the world’s most widely recognised and sought-after perfume products. Decades later, at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York, a bottle of 4711 was placed in a time capsule along with a variety of other objects and buried to give the following generations an impression of what life was like then.

Today, the 4711 brand remains the ultimate eau de cologne, and the myth of its secret recipe is more alive than ever. In its 222 years, 4711 has become an icon in the world of branded goods. The brand stands for 222 years of cultural history, vision and passion. Throughout its long and rich heritage, 4711 has only ever had one aim: to make the world a better, more fragrant place with very special perfumes.